South By Southwest

SXSW Song of the Day: Ramesh – Changing Colors

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Ricky in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

ramesh

Hard to believe it’s been a decade since Voxtrot blew us away with their jangly pop numbers. Well, it’s been that long and since the band broke up, lead singer Ramesh has been plugging away at it. The Austin native is playing SXSW this year once again and while I’m not entirely sure if he has any new material to promote, I did discover this pretty little song he released last year. Have a listen.

The track begins with big drums and a whomping bassline before opening up into synth sweeps, big band horns, and vocal wails. A percussive breakdown then comes in about halfway through with wildly weird cosmic synths before chicken grease guitar careens through the ozone with huge crashing cymbals. (maybe)

Ramesh will probably play a bunch of shows in Austin so be sure to catch him if you want to.

SXSW Song Of The Day: Billie Marten – Ribbon

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Paul in Song of the Day, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

Every year at SXSW, Latitude 30 hosts the British Music Embassy, focusing on showcasing the best and brightest offerings from the British Isles and every year it’s one of the Panic Manual’s favourite spots to check out. And while most of Latitude 30’s schedule for this year has yet to be revealed, the Wednesday lineup presented by BBC Introducing and PRS for Music Foundation has been announced.

Of note on that lineup is young Ripon based folk singer Billie Marten, who has been getting some attention across the pond as of late with her latest single “Bird.” It’s an earlier song of hers that caught my attention though – “Ribbon” features Marten’s voice floating above a gently hypnotic acoustic guitar. Give it a listen.

Billie Marten plays Latitude 30 at 10:00 on Wednesday, March 16.

SXSW Song of the Day: Wagakki Band – Senbon Zakura (Japan)

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Ricky in Song of the Day, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

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I love checking out random shit from other countries at SXSW. You never quite know what to expect. Japanese rock night at SXSW is always one of the highlights. Japanese people really go all out when they are in a rock band and it makes for a super fun show.

A new band, they are an eight piece ensemble that, well, let’s just copy and paste the PR email so I don’t have to bother paraphrasing:

WagakkiBand is an 8-piece band that fuses Shigin, poetry recitation rooted in Japanese traditional performing arts, Wagakki, traditional Japanese musical instruments, and rock music to bring a fresh and yet authentically Japanese live show.

Not quite sure what an un-authentic Japanese live show is, but whatever. The video looks pretty crazy and I’m willing to bet their show case will be as well. Mark this one down on your calendars and check this out.

SXSW Song Of The Day: Bombino – Inar

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Paul in Song of the Day, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

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A few years back, I first became enamoured of the music of the Tuareg people, sometimes referred to as desert blues, which blends traditional sounds and electric guitar. Of the notable names of the genre, Bombino stands out as one of the best. Not just an incredibly talented guitarist, he also puts on a top notch show, having held his own while opening for such heavyweights as Amadou & Mariam and Robert Plant.

The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach was on board as producer for Bombino’s last album Nomad, and for his latest, Omara Moctar has teamed up with perhaps a more intriguing collaborater with Dave Longstreth of Dirty projectors fame producing the upcoming album Azel (out on April 1 – no joke).

Apparently the recording sessions involved a bit of experimentation in the studio, with the introduction of a reggae influence (and the coining of the term ‘Tuareggae’) and Western vocal harmonies to Bombino’s sound. Despite all that, it still sounds unmistakably like Bombino.

Bombino will be playing a few shows around Austin for SXSW before embarking on a North American tour that starts off in Toronto on March 22 at The Horseshoe Tavern. Check out the lead single “Inar” below:

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